‘Evil comes in all sizes’
Puppet Master (also known as Puppetmaster) is a 1989 American horror film written by Charles Band and Kenneth J. Hall, and directed by David Schmoeller (Tourist Trap; Crawlspace). It is the first film in the Puppet Master franchise and stars Paul Le Mat, Irene Miracle (Inferno), Matt Roe, Kathryn O’Reilly, Barbara Crampton and William Hickey.
Originally intended for theatrical release, Puppet Master was ultimately pushed to direct-to-video on October 12, 1989, as Charles Band felt he was likely to make more money this way. The film was very popular in the VHS market and developed a large cult following that has led to the production of an amazing ten sequels.
Plot teaser:
In 1939 Bodega Bay, California, an old puppeteer named Andre Toulon is putting the finishing touches on a living puppet called Jester. A living oriental puppet, named Shredder Khan, stares out of the window for Blade, another living puppet, as Blade scouts the grounds of the Bodega Bay Inn that Andre is staying. Two Nazi spies get out of a car and head for Toulon’s room but Blade beats them there and Andre puts Blade, Jester and Shredder Khan into a chest with the Indian puppet, named Gengie, before hiding the chest in a wall panel. As the Nazis break down the door, Toulon shoots himself in the mouth with a pistol.
50 years later, in 1989, psychics Alex Whitaker, Dana Hadley, Frank Forrester and Carissa Stamford make contact with an old colleague of theirs, Neil Gallagher, and conclude he found Andre Toulon’s hiding place. Each one of them experiences a different vision…
Reviews:
“Even though the original is a bit slow at times, it’s still a pretty well done little slasher (once the slashing begins). The colourful cast of characters adequately complement the puppets, as they find themselves in some memorable situations (BSDM escapades go a little bit further when Tunneler and Leech Woman are involved!). The Bodega Bay hotel setting is effective as well, and there’s enough twists and turns in the plot to keep things interesting.” Oh, the Horror!
” …the puppet effects are great and their designs creative and memorable enough that their appearances are worth sticking around for. It’s easy to see why they captured the imagination of viewers and inspire such loyal fandom that figures, models and masks continue to be sold year after year. Nevertheless after the 1939 opening, it’s fairly slow going until the last twenty minutes or so. Better things were to come in some of the sequels…” Mysterious Universe
“Although Puppet Master is great fun, it’s not without its problems. The film relies heavily on psychic vision sequences that aren’t implemented well in a few cases, making a lot of the narrative of the film seem disjointed and confusing.” UK Horror Scene
Cast:
William Hickey as Andre Toulon
Paul Le Mat as Alex Whitaker
Irene Miracle as Dana Hadley
Jimmie F. Skaggs as Neil Gallagher
Robin Frates as Megan Gallagher
Matt Roe as Frank Forrester
Kathryn O’Reilly as Carissa Stamford
Mews Small as Theresa
Barbara Crampton as Woman at Carnival
David Boyd as Man at Carnival
Peter Frankland as Assassin #1 (Max)
Andrew Kimbrough as Assassin #2 (Klaus)
Featured puppets:
Blade
Jester
Pinhead
Tunneler
Leech Woman
Shredder Khan
Gengie
